Cyclists 1, Architects 0

Before coming over to Europe, we watched a documentary about the renovation of the Rijksmuseum. It is an unbelievable story and involves the power of the cyclists' lobby group in Amsterdam. The controversy was over maintaining a roadway for cyclists through the centre of the museum. After 10 years of debate, rerooting the pathway stayed unacceptable to the cyclists so the design of a spectacular entrance to the museum was eventually scrapped with the subsequent resignation of the Director and others committed to making a renovation suitable for a world-class museum.
It was interesting to hear our host and hostess completely disagree about its success or not - they both bike - she is passionate about the environment and biking, and loves that they kept the bike lane, he thinks it was a big mistake.
I could hardly wait to see the results and after today, can comment on the bike lane, entrance and ticket line. I got no further. Tomorrow will allow us to see the galleries which I expect to be stunning.
So my opinion? It is horrible!! I took a few pictures as I stood for 30 minutes in the first line. The entrance to the museum is a tunnel with bikes travelling through the middle of the building to the other side. Tourists are clueless about the dangers of fast bikes and wander across from one side to another generally ignoring the tiny bells.... It is grim and today, was cold. The building entrance is through a small glass door on each side with security letting people in, small groups at a time. You come through the door on the side of the large, light-filled hall but only rarely did I see anyone look up to the ceiling - most people are searching the vast floor space for the ticket line they have to find...

Entrance. Small arches on left and right are for people. Large arch in centre has bike lanes.

Cyclists passing through building in what could have been a dramatic entrance to the museum.

Unfortunate side entrance where people come in part way up and move down stairs to find the ticket line. 

Freeze when you hear a little bell...

We've been warned about Dutch cyclists but nothing prepared us for the crazy bike culture you encounter here. Bikes are King and any accident, no matter the circumstances finds the cyclist the innocent party. We've been  repeatedly shocked by the speed of the bikes passing us after a warning of a tiny innocent bell. Bill has already witnessed an accident between an older cyclist who was outraged by a young one and her two children riding the wrong way in a bike lane. No one hurt but bikes were tangled and there was much outrage....
We walk like two frightened deer with ears up and heads spinning in all directions when we cross streets. Far worse than England with its street signs: "look right before crossing"!

The main streets are wide. Here we were stuck on a median half way across the road - bikes, trams and cars all compete for space. 

Every street is lined with bikes with heavy-duty locks, carriers for children and  packages.

First line on the right....

We are cutting our holiday short but still have a week of travel. We left the ship this morning and are now staying in a B&B in Amsterdam two blocks from the Rjiksmuseum. It is over 45 years since we were here as naive young travellers and believe me, we are much better at doing this. Only trouble is, our bodies don't always agree...
After getting settled in our B&B we headed out for some practical things - sim card to be in better touch with home, museum pass for the Netherlands, and groceries. We stopped by the Van Gogh Museum to get a time ticket for the next few days and found out it is sold out for weeks. We then approached the nearby Rijksmuseum and found two long lines outside the entrance: one to buy tickets, the other to line up once you had one. Long and short of it, we now have a pass and will be back at 9:00 am for hopefully a shorter line and a chance to see the special Rembrandt exhibit. Turns out it is school holidays as well as high-tourist season. We realize we are also late for the tulips~~~
So what did I say about being experienced travellers? Trouble is, there are millions more of us now.
Our hostess suggested some less-well-known museums we might try or we'll just wander the beautiful streets and take a canal ride.

Outside Van Gogh Museum is all we get!

Rijksmuseum. Lines of about 100 each on either side.

Another view of Rijksmuseum

Last day on ship

Our last day took us to Kinderdyke, a World Heritage Site. Here centuries-old windmills line the dykes still performing age-old role of moving water to prevent flooding. 

The windmills were also used during the Nazi occupation to pass signals to dissidents. Positions of the arms of the windmill had meaning, for example: safe or unsafe travel. They also gave more personal messages: birth of a baby or one for mourning - appropriate for us. 

Kinderdyke,, Centuries-old windmills on the canals

Position of sails to show mourning. 

Thinking about Ted

We have received such sad news about our brother-in-law and are thinking about Fay and her family today. We have so many memories of times spent together: travelling in our trailers, boating,  and New Years Eve's and weekends together.
I told Ted not long ago that he will always be the angel of conscience on my shoulder. If I spoke about some complaint, political or otherwise, his quiet response more than once was: "What are you doing about it?" Thing is, I knew he was right of course, but I also knew he of all people had the right to ask. For all the years we knew Ted, he walked the talk. He was an active member of many non-profit and political organizations and when he joined, he participated fully. He was a model citizen and his example will be one I'll always try to follow.
We are sad today but we already smile when we think of our times together.

After 10 days, it's the Rhine

We left the Main River yesterday afternoon and turned right onto the Rhine. A much larger river - wider with much more traffic. Before long the castles began appearing. Our social director gave a running commentary of them as we passed including details such as "In 25 seconds you'll have the best angle for a picture." The castles are surrounded by vineyards with terraces in every possible space.

We spent the morning running in and out taking pictures. The weather has changed and it has been cool with a cold wind and off and on rain. Looks like that will stay for a day or so.

First appearance of a castle

Typical river-side town

A large church in every colourful town

Hillsides of vineyards

Well-positioned castle

Marksburg Castle

Wertheim - now in Baden-Wurttemberg

Our last medieval town, Wertheim, straddles the borders of two states in Germany: Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg. These are the most prosperous states, according to our last two guides. Today's tour was in two parts: the first an adoration of Wertheim, a town that missed being bombed in the last month of the war - the allied bombers flew over, but the town, located at the confluence of two rivers, was buried in fog.  So the medieval buildings survive. There is a new threat however. Floods. The town has been flooded for centuries but they are more frequent now and cause much disruption. The water doesn't just come in the doors - it comes up from below. Most of the main floors only contain objects that are light enough to be moved quickly. There are also connecting holes in the floors that allow the water to spread from one house to another to control the depth. 

BTW. Our guide insisted we can't leave Germany without a piece of Black Forest Cake and that we should also support the local economy. We did our part. 

Our guide, Ursula, standing in front of building with light marks indicating dept of floods. Top flood mark is part way up white wall. 

Medieval Wertheim

It was raining today so no one sitting outside in the cafes. 

Wertheim houses located on the other side of the river are in Bavaria

We stayed with our guide for a second, optional tour of the Jewish story of Wertheim. She took the role seriously, researching for a year before agreeing to lead these tours. She quoted the philosopher who said, "You don't inherit guilt but you do inherit responsibility." She is now involved in the formation of a museum to be used to educate the children of Wertheim about the treatment of Jews both during the war and in history. We left the tour chastened but educated. 

Jewish Cemetery, headstones date from the 1600's until 1936 when the Nazi's took over. 

Random thoughts...

We are off at 6:00 pm, leaving Wurzburg. It is possible we'll be out of contact again. Here are a few pictures left over from the past few days...

The central thin building is one of the few homes still standing in Nuremberg after the war. About 90% of city was destroyed. Rebuilding preserved the style of houses destroyed. 

Local artist is sick of the attention Albrect Durer gets in Nuremberg so his hare is a man-eating monster who has just devoured Durer. Didn't seem to scare the toddler.

Our guide in Passau. Chris said his girlfriend is out of town so he has no clean clothes - hasn't washed his lederhosen in 14 years. He is a law student living it up before he begins work with a local firm. 

Just love this profile of the organist at St Laurence Cathedral. Completely focused. 

Our tour

Oh those prince-bishops. They know how to spend....

Another day in Bavaria. We are in the northern part and today it is Wurzbug.  We have left beer country and are now in wine country. The hills are lined with vineyards - most planted vertically - better for sun. Wurzburg is known for their dry white wine.
This morning, our tour guide took us to the residence of the prince-bishop. These men held both religious and political power and from the evidence we've seen, had no trouble using it for self-aggrandizement. The tour is planned so that we are taken into increasingly elaborately decorated rooms and the final room is referred to by tour guides as the 'Oh My God' room. Rococo decoration at its most over-the-top with gold, crystals, mirrors and frescoes, they were designed to create an impression of wealth and power. We had our large bags and backpacks locked away apparently to avoid knocking into the gold-covered doors and walls. No cameras were allowed either. So you'll just have to imagine blinding decoration and fresco-covered ceilings with the prince-bishop holding centre stage in the fresco's depiction of the universe. After centuries of rule, it took Napoleon to eliminate the role and power of these men.

Best I could do - photographed from pamphlet. the mirror room on the right was completely redone in the 80's following its destruction in the war. The hall is the grand entrance. If you mattered enough the PB would come down the stairs to greet you. He stayed upstairs when we got there. 

River travel - going down now...

We have been travelling on the Danube River until two days ago when we joined the Danube-Main Canal. We have now left the Canal and are travelling on the Main River on our way to the Rhine. The canal was completed in the early 1990’s and allows shipping starting in the Black Sea all the way to the North Sea. We pass low barges all day long and have learned that they contain everything from trucks to grains. Our arrival times are all tentative depending on the waits at the locks. All the locks on the rivers are free but there is a charge for canal locks. It costs 2200 Euros for a one-way trip. We were moving up in the locks until around Nuremberg and are now moving down dropping sometimes by as much as 50 feet. 

Smoke Beer and croissants...

So another claim to fame for Bamberg:  Rauchbier or “smoke beer”! Early techniques of preparing malt consisted of drying it over open flames, thus creating a smokey flavour. A few breweries in Bamberg have continued the technique and smoke beer is available all over town. We went to one the original brewery taverns. Sure enough, it does smell like smoke, some say bacon.  All of us agreed it wasn’t bad, maybe even improved in drinking, but wouldn’t be our first choice. 

More beer trivia:

Because of the Purity Act, only three ingredients were allowed in beer: barley, hops and water. Strangely, the beer seemed better when the brewery was located close to a bakery. Brewers didn’t make a connection with yeast at first but sure enough, the two oldest breweries are located on either side of a bakery ready to catch the yeast floating in the air. 

While the beer was being ordered, I stopped into the bakery and had a fun conversation with the German baker asking her what was a true Bamberg specialty. I was drooling over the various sweet treats in the display case. She pointed to a croissant and insisted that they were better here than anywhere. The croissant was good - freshly baked and flakey and the conversation was pretty fun but I still have visions of other delectables that I passed up. 

Bamberg Croissant

Pink building is bakery. Buildings on either side are brewery taverns.
Enough proximity for the  yeast to be floating in the air apparently. 

Smoke Beer

Streets of Bamberg

Love the colours. Many of the buildings have a distinct lean to them

Bamberg - now number one!

So it’s become a contest. Which Bavarian town is the favourite? I thought Passau had it in the bag but today’s trip to Bamberg pushed it down the list. Bamberg is another charming town but with a difference recognized by UNESCO. While at first glance it looks medieval, you quickly notice that most of the streets are lined with houses with baroque facades. One of the prince-bishops decided the split timber style of the medieval houses were so yesterday. He hated them and insisted baroque was “in”. He had a new house (palace) built for himself and also influenced the local architecture. He offered to give a tax-free exemption to the fishermen along the river if they changed the facade of their homes. But of all the townspeople, the fishers resisted. Their houses were built so their boats could drive from the river to the bottom floor to unload the fish. They also needed balconies to dry their nets. None of this works with a simple baroque style. Much of the charm of the river now depends on the medieval houses so it was just as well for the current town's economy. Asking the value of the houses, we were told they are never sold - just handed down within families.  

Hilltop home for one of the first Prince-Bishops - medieval structure - so yesterday.

'New' baroque style - now that is modern!

Rooftops of higgledy piggledy medieval/baroque Bamberg

St Stephen and St George Cathedral - you can see change in style as towers were built over centuries - round Roman arches change to pointed Gothic. Now being restored. 

"Little Venice", the fishermen's medieval houses with entrances at water level for boats (now gardens) and balconies for drying nets. 

Third Empire? Not as easy as you think....

Nuremberg has retained a few of the Nazi-era structures as a reminder of the part the city played in Hitler’s dream of world domination. Some of the more famous photos of his enormous rallies are from these areas, Buildings were designed to mirror famous structures and eras of world powers in history. Nuremberg was chosen for its connection to the Holy Roman Empire, and a colosseum-like arena for its connection to the Roman Empire. The structures were massive and the dreams bigger. The colosseum, called the Congress Hall, was planned for massive rallies to be held every September. It was eventually supposed to have a roof with an opening in the centre to allow sunlight to shine directly upon Hitler, centre-stage on a podium. Modern architects say that the span is far too large for a self-sustaining roof and could never have been completed. 

Typical of the grandiose dreams. 

Interior of Congress Hall

More of interior. Now derelict but parts used as a warehouse. Our bus drove inside.
Structure is already massive but was going to have more added to height.

Exterior of Colosseum-like Congress Hall (from bus window)

The home of the SS is now, in a fitting irony, the home of the Ministry of Immigration. 

Fitting conclusion - the International Court of Justice where war trials were held.